Machine for slicing sausage and applying the slices to pizza in a predetermined pattern

ABSTRACT

A machine which receives and holds a group of sausage sticks over a pizza with their axes vertical and substantially perpendicular to the pizza and with their lower ends spaced above the pizza. The group of sausage sticks is moved laterally relative to a band-type cutting blade and the pizza is simultaneously moved therewith so that as the sausage slices are severed from the lower ends of the sticks, they drop in a predetermined pattern on the pizza.

United States Patent [72] Inventor James E. Grote 998 Thurman Ave.,Columbus, Ohio 43206 [2]] Appl. No. 35,726 [22] Filed May 8, 1970 [45]Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [54] MACHINE FOR SLICING SAUSAGE AND APPLYING THESLICES TO PIZZA IN A PREDETERMINED PATTERN 10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.[52] US. Cl 83/201, 146/62, 146/168 [51] Int. Cl 826d 1/46 [50] Field ofSearch... 83/201;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,99l,033 2/1935 Steinwand146/168 X 2,605,799 8/1952 Ratti 146/168 X FOREIGN PATENTS 12,152 1904Great Britain 146/62 Primary Examiner-Willie G. AbercrombieAnorneyMahoney, Miller & Stebens ABSTRACT: A machine which receives andholds a group of sausage sticks over a pizza with their axes verticaland substantially perpendicular to the pizza and with their lower endsspaced above the pizza. The group of sausage sticks is moved laterallyrelative to a band-type cutting blade and the pizza is simultaneouslymoved therewith so that as the sausage slices are severed from the lowerends of the sticks, they drop in a predetermined pattern on the pizza.

PATENTED JAM 1 I972 SHEET 1 UF 4 m we N E s E M A J MAHONE MI} 8 STEB NSATTORNEYS PATENTEDJAHI 11972 316333150 SHEET 2 OF 4 ATTORNEYS PATENTEUmu 1 1972 3631450 SHEET 3 OF 4 INVENTOR. JAMES E. GROTE MAHONEY, MILLERa'sTEB NS ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJANHBH 3633.450

SHEET 0F 4 3; INVENTOR JAMES E. GROTE BY MAHONEY, MILLER 8 STEQENSATTORNEYS MACHINE FOR SLICING SAUSAGE AND APPLYING TI-IE SLICES TO PIZZAIN A PREDETERMINED PATTERN There have been many types of sausage-slicingmachines used in the past in connection with the application of sausageslices, such as pepperoni slices, to the pizza before baking, and someof these machines have been very effective in producing the slices.However, it has then been necessary to handle the slices individuallyand apply them in a proper pattern on the pizza. This is not onlytime-consuming, but often results in a nonuniform application of theslices to the pizza. Furthermore, considerable wastage results fromdropping slices during handling and from applying the slices to thepizza in multiple layers.

The present invention provides a machine which will receive a group ofthe sausage sticks in a pattern corresponding to that to be produced onthe pizza, will hold them with their axes substantially vertical andwith their lower ends exposed for cutting and arranged above the pizza,which is received and supported by the machine, and will move theexposed ends into association with a band-type cutting blade andsimultaneously move the pizza, while maintaining its originalrelationship to the sticks, so that the severed slices will drop in thepredetermined pattern onto the pizza. The machine can receive sausagesticks of any diameter and length and will automatically feed them intocutting position and automatically drop the slices in proper positionson the pizza without wastage.

The best mode contemplated for carrying out my invention is illustratedin the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of my sausage slicing and applyingmachine.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the machine takenalong line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a detail in transverse vertical section taken along line 4-4of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a portion of the machine takenalong line 5-5 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the machine takenalong line 66 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but showing parts in an advancedposition during the cutting and application of the sausage to the pizza.

FIG. 8 is a view taken from the position indicated at line 8- 8 of FIG.7, showing sausage in place in the pizza.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the means for adaptingthe machine to smaller pizzas.

With particular reference to the drawings, the machine of my inventionis illustrated as comprising mainly a carriage guide and support unit10, a carriage l1 reciprocably mounted on the unit 10, and a band-typepower-driven knife unit 12, as shown best in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

The unit 10 may take various forms, but is illustrated as comprising arectangular base having the four upstanding support posts 16 at itsrespective comers. These posts carry a pair of longitudinally extendingupper guide rails 17 and a pair of longitudinally extending lower guiderails 18, the rails of each pair being in spaced parallel relationshipand the upper and lower rails being in respective horizontal planeswhich are vertically spaced.

The carriage I1 is mounted on the rails 17 and 18 for manualreciprocation longitudinally thereof. The carriage comprises a lowerpizza support plate 20 which has bearing sleeves 21 attached to itslower surface and slidably fitted on the guide rails 18 so that thisplate can reciprocate above the rails 18. The carriage also includes asausage hopper support plate 22 disposed above the guide rails 17 andhaving bearing yokes 23 secured to its under surface for slidablyengaging the upper sides of the rails 17. At what may be termed the rearor trailing end of the carriage II, a pair of vertical brackets 24(FIGS. 2 and 4) are provided for rigidly connecting together the lowercarriage plate 20 and the upper carriage plate 22. The plate 22 supportsthe upright sausage-receiving hopper 25, which is of circular outline,and has a circular opening corresponding thereto, and downwardly throughwhich the hopper projects, the hopper being welded or otherwise securedin this opening (FIG. 6). Thus, the hopper 25 is open at both its upperand lower ends and it will be noted that this axis is centered relativeto the plate 20, which is substantially square, and is substantiallyperpendicular thereto. The plate 20 is provided with a large notch orcut out 19 at its rear edge (FIG. 6) to facilitate positioning of thepizza P thereon when the carriage is moved to its rearwardmost positionas determined by contact of the rear carriage brackets 24 with the fixedrear support posts 16.

The cutting unit 12 comprises the endless cutting blade or band 26 whichpasses around the grooved driver pulley 27 at one side of the supportunit 10 and the grooved idler pulley 28 at the opposite side thereof.The respective pulleys are located substantially midway of the length ofthe support unit 10 and are located outwardly of the respective guiderails 17 and 18, being in a common plane transversely of the support sothat the blade or band 26 will travel transversely of the support. Asindicated in FIG. 2, when the carriage II is at its rearwardmostposition, the forward or leading edge of its plate 22 will be behind theupper run of the band 26. It will be noted that the axes of the pulleys27 and 28 are tilted relative to the horizontal so that the upper run ofthe band 26 tilts forwardly and downwardly. The pulley 27 is carried bythe tilted drive shaft of an electric motor 30 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) whichis bolted to a tilted bracket 31 that is welded or otherwise secured tothe support 32 extending laterally outwardly from the base 15. Thepulley 28 at the opposite side is carried by a tilted shaft mounted on atilted bracket 33 (FIG. 5) that is carried by the opposite outwardlyextending support 34 on the base 15. The bracket 33 is mounted on thesupport 34 for inand-out adjustment by means of the screw 35 so that thetension of band 26 can be adjusted.

The upper run of the band 26 is disposed in a transverse slot 36, asshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 and 7, which is provided between the forwardedge of a rearward plate 37 and the rear edge of a forward plate 38which are disposed substantially in a common horizontal plane directlybelow the upper guide rails 17. The rear end of the plate 37 is disposedin slots 39 in the two rear posts 16 to permit vertical adjustment,whereas its front end projects beyond the forward or leading edges ofthe plates 21 and 22 of the carriage, when the carriage is in itsrearwardmost position, as indicated in FIG. 6. It will be noted that theplate 37 is at a level slightly below the lower edge of the hopper 25.It will also be noted that the forward edge of the plate 37 is in theform of a sharp knife edge 40 with an associated upwardly and rearwardlybevelled surface 41. The plate 37 can be adjusted vertically by means ofadjusting screws 42 carried by brackets 43. The brackets 43 are weldedto the rails 17 and the screws 42 engage the lower surface of the plate,a pair of these screws being adjacent the forward edge 40 and anotherpair being spaced forwardly of the rear posts 16. Thus the plate can beaccurately adjusted vertically by adjusting the screws 42 to properlylocate it for producing various thicknesses of sausage slices.

The plate 38 is mounted in a manner similar to the plate 37 with itsforward edge located in slots 39 in the forward posts 16 and beingadjustable by means of the screws 46 on brackets 47 carried by the upperrails 17. The plate 38 at its rear lower edge carries a knife edge strip48 which extends rearwardly over the blade 26 and which is in ahorizontal plane slightly above that of the upper surfaces of the plates37 and 38, but which has a sharp rear edge 49 at the same level as thesharp rear edge 50 of the cutting blade or band 26.-It will be noted(FIGS. 6 and 7) that the tilted blade 26 is wider than the slot 26, hasits forward lower edge under the strip 48 and its upper rear edge 50above the bevelled surface 41 of the plate 37.

The hopper 25 will receive the sausage sticks S and they will be packedtherein to just fill the area of the hopper. Their lengths and diameterscan vary within limits and they will be in a predetermined circularpattern over the circular pizza P which will be supported on the plate20. The hopper will be of a diameter slightly less than that of thepizza. If desired, shallow dividing partitions (not shown) may beprovided adjacent the lower end of the hopper to separate the sausagesticks into smaller groups. A disc-type weight 51 will be disposed inthe hopper above the sticks S so as to keep their lower projecting endsin contact with the plate 37 in the initial position of the carriage 11.It will be noted that the ends of the sticks will extend below the loweredge of the hopper 25.

If it is desired to use the machine for smaller pizza, the hopper may bemade of smaller diameter as indicated in FIG. 9. This will beaccomplished by inserting a smaller diameter adapter 250 into the hopperwhich will have an upper peripheral support flange 25b engage the upperedge of the hopper 25.

In the operation of the machine, the hopper 25 is filled with thesausage sticks S such as pepperoni and the weight 51 is positionedtherein so that the lower ends of the sticks will engage the plate 37,the carriage 11 being in its initial or rearward position at this time.The sticks will not be packed too tightly so that they will tend to dropby gravity through the housing. However, they will be close together tocover the whole area of the hopper and thus be in a proper circularcross-sectional pattern to cover the pizza P which will be centered onthe support 20 relative to the hopper 25. The motor will be engaged todrive the cutting band 26.

Now, if the carriage l l is advanced or moved to the right, as shown bya comparison of FIGS. 6 and 7, the slices of pepperoni will be cut fromthe lower ends of the sticks S and will be simultaneously dropped ontothe pizza in the same relationship the sticks were positioned while inthe hopper relative to the underlying pizza P. As the carriage advances,the pepperoni sticks will be successively engaged by the cutting edge 50of the travelling band 26. Due to the tilt of the blade 26, the sliceswill be forced downwardly, as indicated in FIG. 7, and will drop ontothe underlying pizza. Thus, the slices will be applied on the pizza inthe same pattern as the cross-sectional arrangement of the sticks in thehopper 25. Movement in the one direction of the carriage wili sever theends of all the sticks and as they move past the blade 26, they will besupported by the plate 38. Movement of the carriage back to its originalposition to the left, will cause the lower ends of the sticks S tosuccessively travel over the strip 48, the blade 26, and the surface 41to the upper surface of the plate 37 to again be supported thereby. Thediameters of the sticks S can vary, but in all cases the diameter mustbe less than the width of the slot 36 so that they will pass downwardlytherethrough. The lengths can also vary since all of the sticks willhave their lower ends resting on the plate 37 in the initial position ofthe carriage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A machine for slicing and applying sausage or the like to pizza orthe like comprising:

supply means for receiving the sausage in the form of sticks andsupporting them with their ends exposed;

a support on which the pizza is supported in a plane spaced from thesupply means and from the lower ends of the sticks therein;

a cutting means located adjacent one side of the supply means; and

means for moving the sausage sticks supply means and the supportsimultaneously so as to move the exposed ends of the sticks intocooperation with the cutting means which cuts slices therefrom andapplies them to the pizza on said support.

2. A machine according to claim I, including:

a carriage reciprocably mounted on a base;

said carriage being provided with the supply means in the form of anupright hopper for receiving the sticks with their axes substantiallyvertical and projecting from the lower end of the hopper; said carriagealso being provided with the support means in the form of asubstantially horizontal plate spaced below the hopper, a support andguide unit in whic said carriage is reciprocably mounted;

said cutting means being carried adjacent one side of said hopper sothat the carriage when moved in one direction of its reciprocation willmove into association therewith.

3. A machine according to claim 2 in which the cutting means comprises acutting band movable across said support and guide unit in a transversedirection and having a cutting edge which extends toward the carriagewhen it is in its initial position.

4. A machine according to claim 3 in which a first sausage stick supportplate is carried on said support and guide unit and is disposed in asubstantially horizontal plane beneath said hopper and above said pizzasupport plate for engaging the lower ends of the sausage sticks when thecarriage is in its initial position so as to support the sticks, saidsupport plate supporting the pizza at a lower level which is below thelevel of said cutting band, a second plate carried on said support andguide unit ahead of said first plate in the direction of movement of thecarriage from its initial position and in substantially a commonhorizontal plane therewith, said second plate being spaced ahead of thefirst plate to provide a transverse slot in which said cutting bandtravels.

5. A machine according to claim 4 in which the band is tilted forwardlyand downwardly in the direction of travel of the carriage with a rearcutting edge above the forward or leading edge of said first plate.

6. A machine according to claim 5 in which the rear cutting edge of theband is disposed over a downwardly inclined bevelled surface on theforward leading edge of said first plate.

7. A machine according to claim 6 in which the adjacent edges of saidfirst and second plates are vertically adjustable to accurately positionthem relative to said cutting band.

8. A machine according to claim 7 in which said band is in the form ofan endless band carried by pulleys at opposite sides of said support andguide unit, said pulleys having their axis tilted to support the band intilted position, said band having its upper run travelling in said slot.

9. A machine according to claim 8 in which said pulleys are supported byrelatively adjustable supports on said unit to permit adjustment of thetension on said band.

10. A machine according to claim 9 in which the hopper is provided witha weight for engaging the sticks and forcing them by gravity downwardlythrough the hopper.

1. A machine for slicing and applying sausage or the like to pizza orthe like comprising: supply means for receiving the sausage in the formof sticks and supporting them with their ends exposed; a support onwhich the pizza is supported in a plane spaced from the supply means andfrom the lower ends of the sticks therein; a cutting means locatedadjacent one side of the supply means; and means for moving the sausagesticks supply means and the support simultaneously so as to move theexposed ends of the sticks into cooperation with the cutting means whichcuts slices therefrom and applies them to the pizza on said support. 2.A machine according to claim 1, including: a carriage reciprocablymounted on a base; said carriage being provided with the supply means inthe form of an upright hopper for receiving the sticks with their axessubstantially vertical and projecting from the lower end of the hopper;said carriage also being provided with the support means in the form ofa substantially horizontal plate spaced below the hopper, a support andguide unit in which said carriage is reciprocably mounted; said cuttingmeans being carried adjacent one side of said hopper so that thecarriage when moved in one direction of its reciprocation will move intoassociation therewith.
 3. A machine according to claim 2 in which thecutting means comprises a cutting band movable across said support andguide unit in a transverse direction and having a cutting edge whichextends toward the carriage when it is in its initial position.
 4. Amachine according to claim 3 in which a first sausage stick supportplate is carried on said support and guide unit and is disposed in asubstantially horizontal plane beneath said hopper and above said pizzasupport plate for engaging the lower ends of the sausage sticks when thecarriage is in its initial position so as to support the sticks, saidsupport plate supporting the pizza at a lower level which is below thelevel of said cutting band, a second plate carried on said support andguide unit ahead of said first plate in the direction of movement of thecarriage from its initial position and in substantially a commonhorizontal plane therewith, said second plate being spaced ahead of thefirst plate to provide a transverse slot in which said cutting bandtravels.
 5. A machine according to claim 4 in which the band is tiltedforwardly and downwardly in the direction of travel of the carriage witha rear cutting edge above the forward or leading edge of said firstplate.
 6. A machine according to claim 5 in which the rear cutting edgeof the band is disposed over a downwardly inclined bevelled surface onthe forward leading edge of said first plate.
 7. A machine according toclaim 6 in which the adjacent edges of said first and second plates arevertically adjustable to accurately position them relative to saidcutting band.
 8. A machine according to claim 7 in which said band is inthe form of an endless band carried by pulleys at opposite sides of saidsupport and guide unit, said pulleys having their axis tilted to supportthe band in tilted position, said band having its upper run travellingin said slot.
 9. A machine according to claim 8 in which said pulleysare supported by relatively adjustable supports on said unit to permitadjustment of the tension on said band.
 10. A machine according to claim9 in which the hopper is provided with a weight for engaging the sticksand forcing them by gravity downwardly through the hopper.